Owls Grind Out Win Over Southern Miss

Wednesday, October 21

Boca Raton, Fla.

7:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

-156, 72 CUSA

Southern Miss

-197, 63 CUSA

Southern Miss

FAU

10/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Oct. 21, 2015

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Florida Atlantic University volleyball fought off a resilient Southern Miss squad to take a hard fought four set (25-23, 15-25, 25-23, 26-24) victory on Wednesday night. The win clinched a season sweep for the Owls and put them in sole possession of second place in the Conference USA standings.

The match was a battle of attrition from the start as the two teams, second and third in C-USA in hitting percentage defense didn't allow any easy kills. The Owls (15-6, 7-2 C-USA) built a 15-8 lead in the first set. Southern Miss (19-7, 6-3) cut the lead all the way down to one at 17-16 and then again at 24-23, but a Golden Eagle attack error ended the frame.

USM thundered out to an early lead in the second set and became the first opposing team to take a set in FAU Arena all season, winning 25-15. FAU took a 12-6 lead in set three, but the Golden Eagles fought all the way back to tie the score at 22. The Owls closed on a 3-1 run to take a two sets to one lead.

The fourth set was a grueling one, featuring 13 ties and eight lead changes. Nine of the ties came after both teams reached 15. FAU had a 24-22 lead when a USM kill and block tied the score for the 13th and final time. At that point, Maja Ristic dropped kills number 18 and 19 on the night, giving the Owls the win.

Ivone Martinez (23 asts, 12 digs) and Genesis Viera (21 asts, 13 digs) both recorded double-doubles, while Kristina Rankovic tallied a career high 21 digs. The Owls host rival FIU at 7 p.m. on Friday. Live stats and live video of the match will be available at fausports.com. For tickets, contact the FAU Ticket Office at 1-866-FAU-OWLS.